The Sun, The Moon, and the Truth
by Delenasfangirl
Summary: Alternate ending to 3x17. This is what I wanted to happen, but then the episode ended. Rated M for language and Damon and Elena sexy times.


My first Fic ever. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries and all of their characters belong to their respective owners. I own nothing and do not profit from these stories.

"_A very small degree of hope is sufficient to cause the birth of love." -Stendhal_

* * *

"Yeah, Jer, go out. Go have fun," Elena paused to keep her voice from breaking, "I just miss you."

"Yeah," Jeremy answered, smiling, "I miss you, too."

Elena thought about everything she should tell him. About how he was in danger, about her fight with Damon, about Stefan's returning to himself, about Bonnie's pain, and of course, about Alaric's newfound serial killer alter ego. But of course, she didn't say any of that. Instead, did what she was supposed to and hit "End" on her cell phone before letting out a strangled sigh.

Almost immediately, her house was re-engulfed in the lonely silence that only comes with abandonment. Everyone that used to make her house a home had been slowly picked off, one by one. First of course, were Mom and Dad. Then came Jenna. Stefan had been wrenched from her grasp shortly thereafter.

She, Damon, Alaric and Jeremy learned to cope and a small little surrogate family began to rebuild. Elena chuckled dryly at the though. _Yeah, and we see how well that worked out_. Of course, it was her fault for sending Jeremy away; but, no, she couldn't think like that, it was the right decision, even Damon agreed.

_Damon_.

Of course, she reminded herself, that rift was her fault as well. She _knew_ Damon had been self-conscious the night of the ball, what with Stefan's return and the sudden need to give her actual compliments—and not even his usual enigmatic ones that were meant to confuse her and rope her into a conversation. No, he had said "You look stunning," in an attempt at being suave and non-chalant, but she could tell he was starting to get nervous. How could she just expect him to be understanding when he was already so on edge? Elena kicked herself.

_At least he's still here,_ she thought, _just like he promised._ But he was there to take care of Alaric, the final person forced to leave her.

"I'm bad luck," Elena whispered towards her reflection in the window. Finally, a tear slid down her cheek. She hugged her knees to her body, let out a strangled gasp and released the cries she had been holding in all day.

There was a knock at the door. Startled, Elena sat up and coughed. Her nose was a little snotty and her eyes were stinging. She stood up and wiped her sleeve across her face in an attempt to remove the evidence of crying, but forgot to check herself in the mirror on her way to the door.

When she opened the door to reveal a leather jacket-clad, blue-eyed vampire, Elena was barely surprised. She braced herself for the cold behavior she had been subjected to the past few weeks.

"Damon?"

Immediately, the hard set of his jaw softened and his brow furrowed as he took in Elena's demeanor, "Elena, what's wrong?" He paused and looked her in the eyes, "Have you been crying?"

She sighed and backed away from the door. He followed her inside, shut the door behind him and grabbed her arms. "Tell me," he murmured. His head was bent so they he could be at eye level while her frame was limp.

She shook her head. "No, it's okay, Damon. Whatever. Why are you here?"

His hands dropped to his sides and he straightened himself, "If you want, I can go."

She scoffed, "It's all anybody ever does, so you might as well," she gestured towards the door.

Realization dawned on him, "Elena, you know I couldn't just leave Ric here with you, it's not safe."

"Yeah, I get it," her nostrils flared, "_he _didn't have a choice." She couldn't help it, she knew his actions as of late had been the result of her rejection, but _damn it_, he always brought out her stubborn side.

Their eyes locked, and Elena's arms moved up to hug herself, she felt the need to hold herself together under the intensity of his gaze. Damon shifted in his stance. Then, he got mad.

"Damn it, Elena!" Damon fumed, "where do you get off? Last time I checked, you didn't want me around. You made it pretty clear that I'm not much more than an inconvenient pain in your ass. Then, you keep calling me to save your saintly image. Well I'm sorry if I'm sick of the mixed signals. You wanted this! The pathetic, lovesick brother of your _ex-_boyfriend is backing off. You dug this grave, girly, now you've got to lay in it."

"Ugh!" Elena groaned and threw her hands up into the air, "I know, Damon, I know!" She kept talking as she trudged into the living room, "This is clearly all my fault, I am a horrible, awful, terrible person. I'm a big idiot and I know it, and yet I'm still being hostile!" her hands were gesturing her exclamations and she slumped onto the couch and buried her face in her hands.

Defeated, she sighed, "God, I'm sorry." She sniffed and the tears from earlier began to reappear.

Damon watched as Elena's all-too-familiar guilt began to make its way through her posture. His frustration began to dissipate, then he groaned, and kicked himself for the giving in he was about to do.

He sped to stand in front of her and butterflies erupted in his stomach as a small speech developed in his head. "Elena," he began.

She raised her head, swallowed, and wiped at her face, "What?"

"This is killing me," he said slowly, "Elena, I can accept the fact that you're in love with my brother, and I can step aside to let you two live out your fairy tale romance. I can deal with being the bad guy," he paused to keep Elena from interrupting him, "But this is ridiculous! Elena, you can't insist on my goodness one day, and then throw the reason for my humanity back in my face!"

"I know!" She interjected, "I know, and I was totally in the wrong. You have to believe me, I don't think your lo-" she caught herself, then continued more quietly, "I don't think your feelings for me are a problem. I didn't mean what I said."

Damon nodded, trying to ignore her inability to be explicit. "I know," he said, "But I think this is for the best." He took a deep breath, already regretting the next sentence, "I'm in love with you. I know that, you know that. Hell, the whole town probably knows it by now," he collected himself, "But you're clearly never going to leave Stefan. When we kissed, I thought that I might have a shot, if I could just do everything right. But, Stefan, you've always had a different rule book for him."

Elena protested, "Rule book? Damon, I'm in this totally blind. I don't have any idea what I'm doing."

Damon laughed dryly. "Clearly," he remarked.

"No, I'm serious," she stood up and walked towards him, "What kind of rule book is supposed to save a teenage girl who's found herself between two vampire brothers?"

He'd give her that, he thought. It _was_ a pretty ridiculous predicament, he chuckled to himself.

Elena brightened at the sight of Damon's mood lightening. She grabbed his hand and spoke, "Damon, half the time I'm in total denial of there being anything between us."

"You don't say?" He mused.

She rolled her eyes, but still held his hand between them, and returned to a serious tone, "The other half of the time, I'm wishing that there wasn't so much between us."

She let her words soak in and watched the hurt begin to etch into his face. She was always hurting him, she thought.

"I'm always hurting you," she said the words aloud, and squeezed his hand to bring him closer. "And I know it's wrong, but I'm conflicted. I feel like I should be trying to salvage what's left of my relationship with Stefan, so I feel guilty for dreaming about you and getting those butterflies in my stomach when you look at me. And even if Stefan weren't in the picture, what would that mean? Would I go running into your arms with reckless abandon? I don' think so." She paused, ready for him to interrupt. Instead, he stood, with his fingers locked in hers, waiting for her to finish.

"If I acknowledged whatever it is we have, would it really make a difference?" She pleaded with him, trying to get him to understand. "Damon, I'm still me—I'm paranoid about consequences, and I'm scared of the unknown, not to mention I have to think about my future all the time. You are still you! You lash out when there's a bump in the road, I can't always be walking on eggshells!"

"You're asking me what being with me would be like?" Damon asked, incredulously, "Fuck, Elena, I don't know!"

She sighed, and pulled away from him, her hands dropped to her sides, "See?" She sat back down on the couch.

Damon seemed to have a new zing in his attitude, "But isn't that kind of the point?" He sat down next to her and angled his body towards her. "Love," he said, refusing to shy away from the word, "it's not supposed to be easy. It's unpredictable, beautiful, explosive, and any number of colorful adjectives you can come up with."

"But what if it becomes destructive? Selfish? What if it's all-consuming?"

"How can something so pure be harmful?"

"Damon, you should know the answer to that better than anyone."

For an instant, the hurt returned to his eyes, he shook his head, "No, what I had with Katherine was obsession and manipulation," he said, "it isn't the same thing."

"But what are we, Damon?"

He cupped her face in his hands, "I don't know," he said, "but I know that I love you, and I know that I want this."

She opened her mouth to say something, but he continued while stroking her cheek with the pad of his thumb, "But I'm not going talk you into it." His hands dropped, he stood up and looked down at her, "And I certainly don't want to get into this while you're still in love with my little brother." His jaw tightened. "I'm sorry, Elena." He turned and began to walk towards the door.

Elena began to panic inwardly, "Damon, wait!" She called after him and stood up to stop him. He turned back with a hopeless look in his eye.

"Elena…" he sighed.

At the sound of her name on his lips, her stomach clenched and her mouth became dry. She didn't really know why she called him back.

"Elena, what is it?" He pushed her to speak.

She took a deep breath, "I don't know. I don't know I don't know I don't know!" She cried, "I just…God, just please don't leave me alone." Again, she collapsed into tears.

He reacted immediately, there was no way in hell he was going to let his stupid pride hurt her even more right now. His arms enveloped her and he let her sob into his chest. He rubbed her back to soothe her and kissed the top of her head. "Shh," he murmured, "I won't, okay? I'm here as long as you want me."

"I'm so sorry, Damon," she bawled, "I'm so so sorry."

"I know," he surrendered, no matter how resilient he wanted to be, inevitably, he was complete putty in her hands.

She cried for a few more minutes, and he held her as they stood in the darkened foyer. After a while, she sniffed and her cries were reduced to staggered gasps. Still, though, he held her tight. He inhaled her soft shampoo-and-warmth scent. Her arms moved from around her shoulders, to encircle his waist between his black shirt and leather jacket. They stood for a few moments in silence and he continued to cradle her and rub her back.

Finally, he broke the silence, "You know, you don't have to stay here in this old, ghosty house. You're welcome at Casa de Salvatore anytime."

She chuckled a little, "I don't understand how that's less 'old and ghosty,'" she spoke into his chest.

"Good point."

"Besides," she said timidly, "it feels fuller already."

He separated himself from her a little to look at her face, "Do you really mean that?"

"I do, Damon," she smiled up at him, "you're part of my home."

An incredulous look crossed his face and he pulled her back to his chest. Again, they submerged into a comfortable silence. Again, he kissed the top of her head.

Elena felt safer and warmer than she had in a long time, and she realized this is what she had been craving. It was some small amount of proof that life with Damon wouldn't always bee dangerous and unpredictable, that with him she could find some stillness and safety in the middle of all the battles and bloodshed.

"I think it would be like this," she said out loud.

"What would?"

"If we were together," she said, "it would be like this."

His body stiffened for a moment before relaxing again under her touch, and his chest squeezed around his heart. He could hardly believe what she was saying. He could hardly believe he was standing there, holding her. His heart rate spiked at the sudden, irrational fear that he could be dreaming.

He didn't want to ruin it, but as per usual, he pushed away that annoying logic in favor of moving things along. "Elena," he started, "I need you to know that I'm fucked up."

"Damon," she said, "we've covered this."

"No, I mean as in, I have absolutely no idea how to be in a relationship, be a…_boyfriend,_" he cringed slightly at the term. The silence following that statement was a little more sour, so he broke it, "But I also need you to know that I…that I trust you to know what you want out of this. I need you to know that I trust you, if you would, to teach me how this works."

She looked back up at him and they locked eyes, "I'm not expecting anything if you give me a chance. You don't have to walk on eggshells, Elena. I'll give you anything you want from me."

Elena was dumbfounded as she listened to all the words she had always needed to hear from him.

He wasn't finished, "Elena, I will be so good to you, if you would just _let_ me." His eyes were pleading.

Elena's heart was melting. Her eyes were glistening.

She couldn't take it anymore.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. He responded instantaneously and she could feel the warmth of his mouth on hers. He tasted sweet and the contact between them sent sudden electrical shocks down her body, replacing the previous feeling of comfort. Elena opened her mouth to allow his tongue to enter and she reciprocated.

Her heart was thrumming with joy and she smiled brightly as his lips began to travel to her cheek, then her jaw, down her neck to the nape where he began to suck lightly. She pulled him back up to her face and they continued.

Damon was now positive that he wasn't dreaming. The feeling of Elena's body pressed against his and the taste of her mouth were more wonderful than anything he could have imagined, and he would be damned if he let himself screw this up. He resolved right then and there, as he felt her hands move up to entangle in his hair, he would work his ass off to make her happy. He smiled into her lips.

They separated for a moment to grin at each other. But then, the way his hands were stroking her sides reminded her of the building, aching heat inside of her.

She kissed him again. This time, more forcefully. He caught onto her mood quickly and soon, the passion intensified. He backed her against the wall and pushed his body against hers. Their hips grinded together, and her mind started spinning. One of her hands moved up around his neck, while the other started to slide his jacket off his shoulders.

When he got the signal that she was undressing him, the jacket ended up on the floor so quickly it could only be explained by the supernatural. Next to go was his long-sleeved black tee. The loss of that particular item of clothing made them a few centimeters closer, and exposed his simple, white, clean-smelling t-shirt.

Elena could see so much more of him this way, and she longed to be closer. She backed away from Damon to breathe. They locked eyes for an instant before she reached to pull her navy sweater of her head, revealing her white undershirt…with a built-in bra.

Damon gazed at her for a moment before they attacked each other again. Their hands explored frantically and Elena kicked off her shoes before jumping up to straddle him. He picked her up and their kisses continued. Only this time, he started walking.

Their tongues tangled as he carried her upstairs, step by step. She moaned into him, he pressed her tighter against him. Her eyes were still shut as she felt the slight bouncing of him ascending the stairs. He moaned. She breathed him in.

Their tongues danced and Elena felt like she could kiss him forever, where it not for the burning sensation between her thighs. Soon, she felt herself falling backwards onto her bed.

She opened her eyes when Damon's mouth started travelling down the side of her neck again, after stopping to suckle on her earlobe. She let out a heavy breath. His mouth moved from nuzzling at the nape of her neck, to nipping at her collarbone, then to sucking on the crests of her bosom.

His tongue left damp trails across her front and the fire in her burned relentlessly. His fingers fondled the hem of her cotton undershirt. She moved her hands to the hem of _his _shirt and didn't hesitate to bring it up and over his head. It ruffled his hair.

He decided to return the favor. The olive-toned skin of her entire torso lay bare before him and he stood back to relish sight. There was absolutely _nothing_ more beautiful than Elena Gilbert, he thought to himself.

He smiled down at her and Elena thought she would love him forever if she could just keep that smile on his face.

They stared at each other, both half-naked and yearning, but she spoke anyway, "I'm so glad we're not fighting anymore."

He chuckled and crashed on top of her again to ravish her body with lusty kisses. She loved the way he felt around her, the way she fit in his arms, how warm she was under his touch.

It was a beautiful comfort, but still, her core was enflamed. "Pants. Off. Now." She gasped as her hands moved to fumble with the buttons of his jeans.

"I concur wholeheartedly," he murmured against the top of her stomach, making her belly flip-flop. His hands moved to the top of her jeans and had no trouble sliding them over her toned legs. By that point, she had his unbuttoned and started to use her feet to shimmy them down his mostly horizontal legs.

He looked down between them at her nude boy shorts and thumbed the waistband for an instant as if contemplating before ripping them from her body. She gasped, then chuckled. She sat them up, gave him a mischievous grin and suddenly yanked down his boxers to expose a large, erected manhood. She kissed near his hipbone and he moaned.

"That took too damn long," he whined.

When they were back in bed, he grabbed her waist and pulled her up so her head lay on her pillows. One of his hands went to massage her breast while the other was stroking her thigh.

She nibbled at his lips and entwined her fingers with his ebony locks. The fingers of her other hand were exploring the deep indentations of his muscular back. Their breaths became more and more ragged and the hand that was on her thigh moved up to stroke her wet, fleshy heat.

She stopped kissing him when her back arched at the slight contact with her clitoris and she gasped. He continued to rub little circles inside of her. She moaned and the meeting of her thighs began to throb.

"Oh, Damon," she whimpered. The sound made his need for her intensify. His mouth began to move down her body, sucking, nibbling and ravishing on the way. He paid extra attention to her softly toned stomach with tender, feathery kisses around her navel. She sighed in pleasure.

"God, you're beautiful," he mused.

She didn't respond, her mind was too full of wonderful, new sensations. The tenderness with which he enacted his ministrations made her heart swell, and all she could think about was how much more of him she needed.

At the thought, she felt his hot, wet tongue make contact with her pink folds. "Oh my…" she gasped. He lapped at her heat and she pushed herself towards him, gripping harder on his hair. He thighs clenched and she moaned at the deep kisses he was administering.

She was so _sensitive_ and he was so loving. Her back arched higher and she moaned louder. His tongue dipped inside of her and she could feel the release approaching, a pool of heat building in her core.

"Oh, Damon, oh God, that's…" she began chanting. His touch became more forceful and her eyes clamped shut. One of his fingers slipped inside of her and his lips caught the little bundle of nerves and sucked. She could barely breathe, so instead, she chanted his name again.

He slipped another finger inside of her, and curved them to hit her G-spot. He then swiped his tongue across the entire length of her core. She couldn't take it any more. Her eyes popped open and her mouth formed a single syllable, "Oh." He pumped his fingers as her body shook as the waves of orgasm coursed through her.

Her body rippled and her toes curled. Her legs wrapped tightly around his head and she called out his name. "Damon, oh Damon."

His fingers kept pumping her and he let her ride it out. When her spasms slowed, he moved his head up to look at her. She looked down at him with a starry smile. She sat up to pull his face towards her and gave him a slow, deep kiss.

Both rose to their knees in the center of her bed.

"Masterful," she giggled into his mouth.

He held her and they kissed some more, their bodies were flushed against each other and she felt warmer and safer than she ever had in her entire life, entangled in cotton sheets with her beautiful prince of the shadows.

He led her to crash backwards onto her pillows and positioned himself at her core. He looked between them where her soft, luscious chest was pressed firmly under his hard one and he felt like he found where he was supposed to fit, for the rest of his immortal life.

"Damon," she reminded him. Her legs began to wrap around his waist, egging him on.

He complied, sliding slowly into her. She hissed in delight as he filled her completely. He savored how perfectly he fit inside of her.

They locked eyes, his icy blue burned into her warm, chocolaty brown. He watched her eyes widen as he slowly began to thrust in and out. She pulled him in for one last searing kiss before she lied back to give herself over to every deep, intense feeling inside her.

She brought her legs up around him and he stroked her thigh as he continued to pump.

"God, Elena," her name slid off his tongue and filled her head. She clutched onto his back and groaned in pleasure. He pumped tentatively, slowly, letting the anticipation build. He told himself he would savor every touch. There would be time for wild, heated mating later. For now, they would absorb each other in every instant they were connected.

The scent of Elena's arousal was hanging in the air, her body was radiating heat, her lips were plump from kisses, and her face was contorted to convey almost a kind of pain, she looked desperate for him, and she was. He groaned in response, he didn't know how long he could hold off release. His brow furrowed in concentration.

He thrust more forcefully, and her hips bucked to meet him. He could tell she was on the brink of ecstasy and he was determined to come with her. She gripped more tightly on his back, their moans had reached a very high volume.

"Oh, Damon, don't stop," she begged.

"Never," he swore.

Underneath him, she rolled her hips, and he groaned with an unbearably pleasurable pain. Their stomachs were rolling together with every movement. The pace of his thrusts quickened, and she held onto him tightly, never wanting to let go.

Elena couldn't believe how much she wanted him, and how long she had waited. For a few moments, everything went into slow motion. Somewhere in the haze of their tangled dance, their eyes found each other and he looked at her with such emotion, her vision began to blur. A single tear ran down her cheek. Next, all of her senses exploded.

She hit a wall of incredible pleasure, and wave after wave of euphoria enveloped her being. She could feel Damon's heat when he shuddered into her. Her back convulsed over and over again. She didn't know how long she rode her climax, but it felt like an eternity. She could feel his eyes burning into her skin during every moment of it.

Finally, they collapsed into each other, and she held him inside of her for a few moments while he kissed every inch of her neck, all the while chanting between kisses, "You're a goddess, Elena. My gorgeous (kiss) sexy (kiss) incredible (kiss) goddess…"

She giggled underneath him and leaned forward to kiss his forehead. She brushed her hands through his hair.

He sighed in contentment, pulled out of her and collapsed to the side of her. They were both covered in a sheen of sweat, and her hair was damp, but he pulled naked form against him and he held her tight.

"My, my" she smiled, "I never imaged that Damon Salvatore would ever spoon."

"Spooning, contrary to common acceptance," Damon lectured, "happens to be one of the biggest turn-ons ever."

She nodded, and turned her head to plant a peck on his cheek. Suddenly, she whipped around to face him, "Oh my God!" She cried, "I almost forgot!"

"Oh no," he groaned, "What?"

She hesitated to send him a mischievous grin, "I forgot to tell you that I love you."

Damon's heart fluttered in his chest. His stomach pounded inside of him. He was speechless. He rubbed his face with his hands and rolled his eyes.

He rolled back on top of Elena and attacked her face with kisses, "I love you I love you I love you I love you" he repeated over and over between caresses.

She caught his lips with hers and they pulled themselves towards each other. Happiness buzzed between their bodies. Damon felt like he could burst. Elena felt lighter than air and more loved than she ever had before.

They returned to cuddling a few minutes later, this time his arms were wrapped around her and her head laid on his chest. She looked up at him, remembering something, "So, why _did _you come over anyway?"

"Oh yeah," he recalled the pride that had been swelling inside of him before he knocked on Elena's door, "We got some more White Oak."

She sat up abruptly, "You what?" She exclaimed.

He grinned up at her, "Yup!"

"So that means…" she started.

"Time to go kill some Originals," he bragged.

She leaned forward and stopped as her lips were poised above his.

"Tomorrow," she said.

"Tomorrow," he agreed, and flipped her over on her back.


End file.
